That may seem like a surprise at first, but it is quite understandable. All three pitchers are major league-quality starters and are expected to get a chance to make a full slate of starts, health permitting. That’s not something the Phillies can offer, considering any addition would at least put Wheeler behind. Jesus Luzardo, Christopher SanchezAnd Aaron Nola on the team’s depth chart. That theoretically leaves one spot open at the back of the rotation even if Wheeler is healthy, but the team has made no secret of the fact they hope to give Andreas Schilder a key opportunity in this year’s rotation, perhaps as early as Opening Day. If the rest of the rotation is healthy and another regular is added to the mix, pressing Painter would force the club to go to a six-man rotation or relegate someone to the bullpen.
Given all that, it’s perhaps not surprising that Dombrowski indicated that players like Giolito, Littell and Scherzer aren’t the right fit for what they’re looking for. There are still a number of veterans left who will likely have to settle for minor league deals, such as Patrick Korbin, Tyler AndersonAnd Marcus Stromanbut outside that group the choices are quite small. Even if one of those players were open to joining Philadelphia, it might not be the ideal fit. Dombrowski emphasized in his comments to Zolecki that the club prefers to add weapons available to the minors, as Wheeler could return from the injured list as early as early April.
It’s not impossible to find optional starters on the free agent market, as evidenced by the team’s recent minor league deal with the right-hander Connor Gillispie. However, Dombrowski’s comments about their continued search for pitching came after the Gillispie deal, indicating the team is still on the hunt for more talent. That’s not exactly a shock, considering Gillispie has just 34 big league innings under his belt and struggled poorly in six starts with the Marlins last year. However, big-league fringe players like Gillispie are par for the course when it comes to free agents who can still be optioned to the minors, making it easy to see why Dombrowski has indicated in his previous comments that he’s interested in a trade for rotation depth.
If you look around the league, there are certainly a handful of teams with a surplus of option starters that could fit the Phillies’ needs. The cubs (Javier Assad), Evaders (Landon Knack), Tigers (Keider Montero) and giants (Hayden birdsong) are among the teams with optional starters who have notable big league experience but will likely be squeezed out of the club’s rotation this year. Separating clubs with optional rotation depth isn’t easy given the value of that resource, but if the Phillies are motivated enough, those teams could be better equipped to part with the kind of arm Dombrowski appears to be looking for than most other teams. If that kind of trade doesn’t work out, a non-roster invitee to Spring Training would be happy Bryse Wilson, Tucker Davidsonor perhaps Gillispie (if he received an invite to big league camp as part of his deal) seems likely to be where the Phillies turn if they want to give Painter competition for the vacant Opening Day rotation job.
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